As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season comes to an end, friends and relatives begin to return home and things start heading back to normal, your individual clients will begin thinking about the New Year, only three days away. In addition to the new year’s resolutions they are making, it’s important, that as their trusted benefits advisor, you remind them that they still have time to sign up for their 2016 ACA coverage and make the best resolution of all…to invest in their health!    

Here are the remaining 2016 ACA coverage dates and deadlines you can encourage your clients to add to their calendar:

January 1, 2016           Coverage begins if enrolled by December 17, 2015.

January 15, 2016         Enroll or change plans by this date for coverage starting February 1, 2016.

January 31, 2016         Enroll by this day to receive coverage staring on March 1, 2016; it’s also the last day to receive coverage for 2016.

Curious about how many individuals will sign up for coverage via the Marketplace in 2016? Well, your individual clients will potentially be one of 9.4 to 11.4 million individuals who enroll for health benefits through public exchanges, according to 2016 projections made by the Department of Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Additionally, it’s estimated that a significant number of the enrollees will be individuals who have never had insurance before; much of the remainder will consist of individuals who previously had off-Marketplace coverage. This information is valuable to keep in mind as you continue your efforts to help this important group get enrolled and get the coverage they need. With such a large amount of new enrollees in need of benefits, now’s a fantastic time to kick your marketing up a notch and expand your business.

How have you found the 2016 open enrollment period compared to last year?